United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor greets people at a ceremony to unveil the official portrait of former Chief Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals, Jonathan Lippman on Monday, April 3, 2017, in Albany, N.Y. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union) less

United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor greets people at a ceremony to unveil the official portrait of former Chief Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals, Jonathan Lippman on Monday, April 3, ... more

United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor addresses those gathered at a ceremony to unveil the official portrait of former Chief Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals, Jonathan Lippman on Monday, April 3, 2017, in Albany, N.Y. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union) less

United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor addresses those gathered at a ceremony to unveil the official portrait of former Chief Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals, Jonathan Lippman on ... more

Photo: Steve Petteway, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United St

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Steve Kozlowski, a volunteer with the Alliance for Positive Health, attended the Jefferson Awards ceremony in Washington D.C. in June and photographed U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor "who made quite an impression giving a presentation on the floor of the banquet hall walking among all the tables." (Steve Kozlowski) ORG XMIT: nvoxKtOBAeekhsBzkaQd less

Steve Kozlowski, a volunteer with the Alliance for Positive Health, attended the Jefferson Awards ceremony in Washington D.C. in June and photographed U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor "who made quite ... more

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Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor talks of life, law

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U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor's whirlwind tour of the Capital Region revealed a personal side of the third woman and first Latina to serve on the Supreme Court.

From humorous stories about her family to reflections on how she is perceived by others, Sotomayor showed off her sharp wit to future lawyers and legal scholars at the Albany Law School's Government Law Center Monday night.

She received the school's Kate Stoneman Award, presented annually to people in the legal profession who have demonstrated a commitment to seeking change and equal opportunities for women.

While in the region, Sotomayor will speak at three Capital Region colleges.

Sotomayor is slated to receive an honorary doctorate from the Sage Colleges on Tuesday. She'll speak at 11 a.m. at Sage's campus in Troy.

Sotomayor has a public event Tuesday evening at the University at Albany's SEFCU Arena. She's scheduled to have an interactive discussion of her memoir, "My Beloved World."

She acknowledged that the most tortuous cases are the ones where there is little or no legal precedent and that cases before the nation's highest court are "about who wins and loses."

"There is no court that fixes our mistakes," Sotomayor said.

The jurist also shared her philosophy of acknowledging her adversaries and showing "human understanding" to them while considering contentious legal matters.

Sotomayor, appointed in 2009 by former President Barack Obama, said she enjoys speaking to youngsters, often focusing her talks on education and "opening the world to them in a way nothing else can."

She said she views herself as a "law interpreter and not a law maker" and that controlled anger in writing dissenting views can be healthy.

The Bronx native also said disagreement among justices is a good thing because "it's all borne from the same dedication to the betterment of the law" and not by any ill will or malice.

Afterward, Adriana De Leon said her interaction with Sotomayor in front of hundreds of her Albany Law school colleagues felt like she was talking with a relative.

''It almost felt as if she was a family member and I was having a conversation with an older female member of my family," De Leon said.

Earlier, Sotomayor moved about the crowd shaking hands while fielding a variety of questions from De Leon and other future lawyers.

She conceded that most people don't read entire legal opinions but instead rely on the "popular press" to shape the way they think.

"I work very hard at making my opinions understandable to anyone who bothers reading them," Sotomayor said, adding, "you don't need more than a fifth-grade education to follow what I'm saying."

She recounted the encouraging words from Justice John Stevens during her first year on the nation's highest court where he told her that "no one is ever born a justice" but "you're born a person and grow into becoming a justice." Stevens is now retired.

Earlier in the day Monday she attended a ceremony where a portrait of retired Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman was unveiled.